Elevated flooring system



Jame H3, 1%? F. LOEWENAU ELEVATED FLOORING SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 19, 1965 June 13, 1967 R LQEWENAU 3,324,614

ELEVATED FLOORING SYSTEM Filed, Feb. 19, 1965 2 SheetsSheet 2 f'flewema/LUZ/611% (g 62 will 3,324,614 ELEVATED FLOORING SYSTEM Robert F.Loewenan, Downers Grove, lll., assignor to lnterlake Steel Corporation,Chicago, 111., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 19, 1965, Ser. No.433,978 6 Claims. (Cl. 52--126) ABSTRACT F THE DISULOSURE An adujstablelevel floor structure supported by jacks adjustable to vary the floorlevel. A detachable interlock between a jack head and floor supportchannel is obtained by rotation of the jack head to engage flangesthereon with flanges on the channel and a stop on the jack head limitsrotation of the head to the fully interlocked position.

This invention relates to elevated flooring installations and moreparticularly is concerned with a reticulated floor supporting structureof simplified, high strength construction that may readily be installed.

Elevated flooring installations find important application in electronicdata processing installations and for this purpose must provide greatstrength and rigidity to support the heaviest equipment with minimumdeflection.

It is important that such flooring systems be adjustable elevationallyto enable accurate leveling of the floor for insuring proper operationof the equipment. Strength and rigidity are absolutely necessary inadjustable elevated flooring systems for retaining the initial levelledadjustment.

The usual elevated flooring installation must serve as an airconditioning plenum and as a housing for the electrical wiring system.Therefore, the individual flooring panels must be easily removable foraccess to the subfioor region during initial equipment hook-up and forfuture maintenance.

Most elevated flooring systems require custom sizing at the installationsite and standardized structural parts that may readily be cut to lengthand readily intercom nected are important for speeding installation,reducing material supply problems, and eliminating waste.

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is theprovision of an elevated flooring support ar r-angement: that utilizesuniform floor beam and cross piece construction of maximum strength andrigidity; that accommodates ready connection of each floor beam to aplurality of adjustable floor mounted support jacks; that is finallysecured in permanent relation by cross pieces that impart lateralstability and that prevent accidental disengagement of the floor beamsfrom the jacks; and that provides easy access to any region of thesubfloor.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description and claims, and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which show structure embodying preferred featuresof the present invention and the principles thereof, and what is nowconsidered to be the best mode in which to apply these principles.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a room equipped withelevated flooring structure constructed in accordance with thisinvention, with portions of the flooring removed to facilitatedisclosure of the support structure arrangement and interconnection;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating the 3,324,614 PatentedJune 13, 1967 supporting structure layout utilized in the preferredpractice of this invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a jack assembly andits connection to a floor beam;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a jack head arranged for interconnection with afloor beam;

FIG. 5 is a side elevati-onal view of the jack head and pedestal;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating the manner in which ajack head is engaged to a floor beam; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view through a floor beam andillustrating the completed connection arrangement between a jackassembly, floor beam, and cross piece.

Referring now to the drawings, a room is designated generally at R inFIG. 1 and is shown provided with an elevated flooring system whichincludes a reticulated floor supporting structure 10 and a set ofrectangular finished flooring panels 11 disposed in supported relationupon the flooring structure.

The flooring structure 10 as disclosed herein includes a set ofuniformly spaced parallel extending floor beams 12, a plurality of jackassemblies 13 arranged in a gridlike pattern to present a separate rowof jacks in supporting relation to each floor beam and a set ofcrossties 14 connecting adjacent crosswise aligned jack assemblies in astaggered pattern. Such a staggered cros-stie pattern is permissible asthe crossties are not depended upon for direct support of the flooringpanels, but only for imparting lateral stability to the structure. Inthe preferred practice of this invention it is contemplated that theflooring panel-s 11 have opposite lengthwise edges supported on adjacentfloor beams 12, with each beam having abutting ends of adjacent panelsequally sharing the available beam support surface area.

It will be apparent that this elevated floor arrangement can be elevatedto any desired height by adjustment of the jacks 13 to provide a plenumfor air conditioning and for any required electrical service conduits.This plenum area is easily accessible by removal of the floor panels atthe appropriate location, and this facilitates installation of dataprocessing equipment with its underfloor mounted wiring, and it alsofacilitates maintenance.

The floor supporting jack assemblies 13 are all of identicalconstruction and in the preferred form disclosed herein, comprise a basesection 15 and a pedestal section 16 rotatably carried by the base inelevationally adjustable relation. The base section 15 as disclosed hereconsists of a floor plate 15F arranged for direct securement to the mainbuilding floor and an upstanding hollow support tube 1ST centrally ofthe plate. The pedestal 16 comprises a connection head 16H whichsupports and interlocks with the floor beam 12 and a depending threadedspindle 168 which is equipped with an adjustment collar 17 that rests onthe upper end of the support tube 1ST and that threadedly engages thespindle to transmit the loading forces. Rotation of the collar 17 Whileholding the pedestal 15 and base 16 varies the ele vation of the head16H to accomplish initial leveling of the floor support structure. Thecollar 17 has locking means associated with it, and in the illustratedarrangement, the collar is of rhombic configuration and has a downturnedcorner 17C provided with a tapped hole to receive a locking screw 18that is engageable radially against the support tube 15T to fix thecollar against rotation.

The support head 16H at the top of the pedestal is of generallychannel-shaped configuration and is provided with holding clips 19 whichpreferably are in the form of upraised flanges struck out from the mainwall of the head and oriented in laterally oppositely outwardly directedrelation. These flanges 19 are preferably oflset as is best seen in FIG.4. The main wall of the head has one end provided with a connection hole16C to receive a crosstie fastener and has its opposite end providedwith an upstanding positioning stop 16F which preferably is struck outfrom the main wall and is positioned to engage laterally externallyagainst the floor beam 12 when the floor beam is interlocked with theholding clips 19. When a crosstie is employed, as shown in FIGS. 3 and7, the inner edge 14E of the crosstie is parallel to the floor beam 12and this edge in conjunction with stop 16P resists any rotation of thesupport head 16H.

When a crosstie 14 is not employed with a jack assembly 13, as when ajack assembly is positioned at a corner location indicated at the twoupper corners of the structure shown in FIG. 2, an additionalpositioning stop 16R can be bent out from the support head 16H to engagelaterally externally against the floor beam 12 when the floor beam isinterlocked with the holding clips 19. This stop 16R in conjunction withstop 16F resists any rotation of the support head 16H.

The floor beams 12 are preferably formed steel flanged channelspresenting continuous bottom flanges 21 that are laterally oppositelyinwardly directed and transfer floor loads to the. support jacks 13 bycontinuous beam action to afford maximum strength and rigidity andminimize deflection or distortion. As is apparent from a considerationof FIG. 7, the inner extremities of the head flanges 19 are spacedcloser together than the inner extremities of the beam flanges 21 andthe outer extremities of the head flanges 19 are intermediate of theinner and outer extremities of the beam flanges 21 to enable partialoverlap of the flanges for effecting vertical interlocking between thebeam and the jack heads.

The assembled relationship of a beam 12 and connection head 16H ispictured in FIGS. 3 and 7, and it will be noted that the positioningstop 16P engages laterally against the beam when the beam is oriented inproperly aligned fully interlocking relation to the head flanges 19. Thepositioning stop 16P permits relative rotation of the connection head16H with respect to the beam in only one direction for the purpose ofseating the beam upon the head as illustrated in FIG. 6 and thereafterinterlocking the flanges in retained relation.

The crossties 14 as illustrated, are preferably steel structural angleshaving a multiplicity of perforations 14P of various orientation andsize to enable easy and precise positioning of the angles with respectto the connector holes of the heads. Since the angles 14 are preferablycut to length on the job site, the perforations give needed flexibilityin sizing to offset any gain or loss from creeping, and the perforationsare provided only in the horizontal wall 14H, while the vertical wall14V is unbroken and provides adequate strength to function as a lateralcontrol member and maintain the beams 12 in properly spaced stablerelationship.

The simplified installation procedure, which is made possible by thedisclosed arrangement, may now be described. The jack assemblies 13 arefirst placed in a grid pattern and are individually adjusted to properheight for establishing a desired uniform floor level with minimumvariations. The locking screws 18 are actuated to fix the jack heads 16Hat their adjusted positions. The floor beams 12 are then cut to lengthas required for the particular room and each beam is applied to a row ofjacks. With a beam 12 approximately positioned on the jacks 13, eachjack head is rotated to an oblique relation as pictured in FIG. 6 toaccommodate flush seating of the beam flanges 21 on the head andthereafter, the jack is rotated back to an aligned relationshipdetermined by the engagement of the positioning stop 16P with the sidewall of the beam. During this return rotation the upraised clips 19 onthe head receive the beam flanges 21 and establish vertical interlockingengagement.

Since the collar 17 is preferably locked during this operation, therotation of the head varies the elevation of the pedestal, but thepositioning stop 16P serves as a guide to insure that the pedestals arerestored to their initially adjusted level condition. At this point, itis well to check the levels defined by the various beams, and if all isin proper adjustment, the crossties 14 are connected between adjacentheads 16H to fix them in their aligned relation and prevent accidentaldisengagement of the components. It may be noted that the engagement ofthe beams with the jack heads requires no separate mechanical fasteners.The only mechanical fasteners involved in the construction being thefasteners (not shown) which are employed for securing the base plates tothe subfloor and the fasteners 20 which connect the crossties 14 to theheads 16H.

After the beams 12 are in place and a final check of leveling has beenmade, an adhesive-backed cork tape 22 is applied to the top wall of thefloor beam to insure proper seating of the flooring panels which aresupported continuously along the beam to dampen any vibration or noisethat may occur and to act as a seal for preventing air leakage from theplenum chamber. Finally, the flooring panels are set in place.

Any particular panel may be removed after the installation is completedby the use of a manual vacuum lifter (not shown.) This affords access tothe sub-floor whereever desired. The thickness and sizing of theflooring panels 11 may be widely varied in accordance with strength anddecor requirements.

Thus, while preferred constructional features of the invention areembodied in the structure illustrated herein, it is to be understoodthat changes and variations may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the appending claims.

I claim:

1. In a reticulated floor support system for supporting a plurality orrectangular flooring units, a plurality of spaced apart parallel floorbeams each provided with bottom portions that constitute a set oflaterally oppositely directed bottom flanges, and a plurality of jackassemblies separately supporting each floor beam, each jack assemblyhaving a base and a pedestal rotatably carried by said base, eachpedestal having a support head provided with a set of laterallydiagonally oppositely directed upraised flanges, the flanges of one setprojecting oppositely inwardly and the flanges of the other setprojecting oppositely outwardly and having inner extremities spacedapart closer than the inner extremities of the flanges of said one setand having outer extremities spaced apart intermediately of the innerand outer extremities of the flanges of said one set to enable initialrotation of said head to an oblique position to accommodate seating ofsaid beam flanges on said head and to enable subsequent rotation of saidhead to aligned position to bring said upraised flanges into verticallyinterlocking relation with said bottom flanges.

2. In a reticulated floor support system for supporting a plurality ofrectangular flooring units, a plurality of spaced apart parallel floorbeams each provided with bottom portions that constitute a set oflaterally oppositely directed bottom flanges, and a plurality of jackassemblies separately supporting each floor beam, each jack assemblyhaving a base member, a pedestal member upstanding from said basemember, a collar threaded on one of said members and engageablevertically against the other member to mount the pedestal member inelevationally adjustable relation upon the base member, and means forlocking the collar relative to one of said members, each pedestal memberhaving a support head provided with a set of laterally diagonallyoppositely directed upraised flanges, the flanges of one set projectingoppositely inwardly and the flanges of the other set projectingoppositely outwardly and having inner extremities spaced apart closerthan the inner extremities of the flanges of said one set and havingouter extremities spaced apart intermediately of the inner and outerextremities of the flanges of said one set to enable initial rotation ofsaid head to an oblique position to accommodate seating of said beamflanges on said head and to enable subsequent rotation of said head toaligned position to bring said upraised flanges into verticallyinterlocking relation with said bottom flanges.

3. In a recticulated floor support system for supporting a plurality ofrectangular flooring units, a plurality of spaced apart parallel floorbeams of flanged channel shape to provide a set of laterally oppositelydirected bottom flanges, and a plurality of jack assemblies separatelysupporting each floor beam, each jack assembly having a base and apedestal rotatably carried by said base in elevationally adjustablerelation, each pedestal having a support head provided with a set oflaterally oppositely directed upraised flanges, the flanges of one setprojecting oppositely inwardly and the flanges of the other setprojecting oppositely outwardly and having inner extremities spacedapart closer than the inner extremities of the flanges of said one setand having outer extremities spaced apart intermediately of the innerand outer extremities of the flanges of said one set to enable initialrotation of said head to oblique position to accommodate seating of saidbeam flanges on said head and to enable subsequent rotation of said headto aligned position to bring said upraised flanges into verticallyinterlocking relation with said bottom flanges, and each head having anupstanding positioning stop located laterally externally alongside thecorresponding beam to determine the aligned position for the head and toenable rotation in only one direction from such aligned position to theoblique position.

4. In a recticulated floor support system for supporting a plurality ofrectangular flooring units, a plurality of spaced apart parallel floorbeams of continuously flanged channel shape to provide a set oflaterally oppositely inwardly directed bottom flanges, and a pluralityof jack assemblies separately supporting each floor beam, each jackassembly having a base member, a member upstanding from said basemember, a collar threaded on one of said members and engageablevertically against the other member to transmit loads between saidmember and mount said pedestal member in elevationally adjustablerelation upon the base member, and means for locking the collar relativeto one of said members, each pedestal member having a support headprovided with a set of laterally diagonally oppositely outwardlydirected upraised flanges generally aligned with said beam flanges andhaving inner extremities spaced apart closer than the inner extremitiesof said beam flanges and having outer extremities spaced apartintermediately of the inner and outer extremities of said beam flangesto enable initial rotation of said head to an oblique position toaccommodate seating of said beam flanges on said head and to enablesubsequent rotation of said head to aligned position to bring saidupraised flanges into vertically interlocking relation with said bottomflanges.

5. In a reticulated floor support system for supporting a plurality ofrectangular flooring units, a plurality of spaced apart parallel floorbeams of continuously flanged channel shape to provide a set oflaterally oppositely inwardly directed bottom flanges, and a pluralityof jack assemblies separately supporting each floor beam, each jackassembly having a base and a pedestal rotatably carried by said base,each pedestal having a support head provided with a set of laterallyoppositely outwardly directed upraised flanges generally aligned withsaid beam flanges and having inner extremities spaced apart closer thanthe inner extremities of said beam flanges and having outer extremitiesspaced apart intermediately of the inner and outer extremities of saidbeam flanges to enable initial rotation of said head to an obliqueposition to accommodate seating of said beam flanges on said head and toenable subsequent rotation of said head to aligned position to bringsaid upraised flanges into vertically interlocking relation with saidbottom flanges, and each head having an upstanding positioning stoplocated laterally externally alongside the corresponding beam todetermine the aligned position for the head and to enable rotation inonly one accurate span between said aligned and oblique positions.

6. In a reticulated floor support system for supporting a plurality ofrectangular flooring units, a plurality of parallel rows of jackassemblies, each jack assembly having a permanently fixed base providedwith :an upstanding support tube, a pedestal having a threaded spindlerotatable in the support tube, a collar threaded on said spindle anddisposed upon said tube to transmit load force from the pedestal to thebase and mount the pedestal in elevationally adjustable relation uponthe base, each pedestal having a support head provided with upraisedabutments, and separate beam supported on the heads of each row of jacksand having bottom abutments adjacent each head for verticallyinterlocking engagement with the corresponding head abutments, saidabutments being spaced in a configuration to enable rotation of saidhead to an oblique relation to accommodate flush seating of the beamupon the head and to enable final rotation of the head to bring theabutments into interlocking relation, each head having an upstandingpositioning stop located laterally externally alongside thecorresponding beam to determine the interlocking relation and to enableparti-circular rotation of the head in only one direction toward theoblique relation, and crossties connecting the heads of each pair oflaterally adjacent jacks to prevent rotation of the heads afterinterlocking engagement of the heads and beams has been established.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,681,010 8/1928 Rag-gio 248-354X 2,271,250 1/1942 Buchholz 248-223 X 3,157,254 11/1964 Spiselman 52456X 3,222,030 12/1965 Thorpe 248354 X FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.G. W. HORNADAY, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A RETICULATED FLOOR SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SUPPORTING A PLURALITY ORRECTANGULAR FLOORING UNITS, A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART PARALLEL FLOORBEAMS EACH PROVIDED WITH BOTTOM PORTIONS THAT CONSTITUTE A SET OFLATERALLY OPPOSITELY DIRECTED BOTTOM FLANGES, AND A PLURALITY OF JACKASSEMBLIES SEPARATELY SUPPORTING EACH FLOOR BEAM, EACH JACK ASSEMBLYHAVING A BASE AND A PEDESTAL ROTATABLY CARRIED BY SAID BASE, EACHPEDESTAL HAVING A SUPPORT HEAD PROVIDED WITH A SET OF LATERALLYDIAGONALLY OPPOSITELY DIRECTED UPRAISED FLANGES, THE FLANGES OF ONE SETPROJECTING OPPOSITELY INWARDLY AND THE FLANGES OF THE OTHER SETPROJECTING OPPOSITELY OUTWARDLY AND HAVING INNER EXTREMITIES SPACEDAPART CLOSER THAN THE INNER EXTREMITIES OF THE FLANGES OF SAID ONE SETAND HAVING OUTER EXTREMITIES SPACED APART INTERMEDIATELY OF THE INNERAND OUTER EXTREMITIES OF THE FLANGES OF SAID ONE SET TO ENABLE INITIALROTATION OF SAID HEAD TO AN OBLIQUE POSITION TO ACCOMMODATE SEATING OFSAID BEAM FLANGES ON SAID HEAD AND TO ENABLE SUBSEQUENT ROTATION OF SAIDHEAD TO ALIGNED POSITION TO BRING SAID UPRAISED FLANGES INTO VERTICALLYINTERLOCKING RELATION WITH SAID BOTTOM FLANGES.